Fedora 11 Beta

This is the part where I usually come up with something clever to say before the useful information regarding a development release. I had something great, I really did. In fact I had the most clever statement in the world. Only you see, my cat jumped on my keyboard, right when I was testing emacs (I don't even use emacs!) and the darn X session just got zapped! All my cleverness gone, and this, well this is just a tribute.

When Fedora 10 was released, users and press alike gushed: "Slick and stable... has a rock solid feel." "Fast and easy." "A great release." What's next for the free operating system that shows off the best new technology of tomorrow? You can find out at:

We also hope to repeat the crazy success of Fedora 10's Beta contest! Test five things in the Beta that are important to you as a user. If you find a bug *and* report it, you get the free attention of a package maintainer on a problem personally important to you! Do your part to make Fedora 11 that much better.

* Automatic Fonts Mime Installer - Allows programs on the desktop to automatically install applications, fonts, multimedia capabilities, and clipart. * Fingerprint Readers - Better experience for systems with fingerprint readers, including support through the graphical Authentication Configuration tool and gnome-about-me. * Intel, ATI, and Nvidia kernel modesetting - Fedora 10 provided the first steps by a major distribution in using the kernel modesetting (KMS) feature to speed up graphical boot. Fedora 11 has increased the video card coverage of the KMS feature, with more to come.

* Virt Console - Fedora 11 provides more accurate mouse pointer positioning and higher screen resolutions for virtual machine consoles, along with other improvements such as simpler use of USB devices. * MinGW Cross-compiler - Build and test full-featured Microsoft Windows programs, from the comfort of a Fedora system, without needing to use that "other OS." * Volume Control - The multimedia experience of Fedora users is improved by an easily understandable and much more flexible volume control.

But wait, there's more! For developers there are all sorts of goodies:

* Python 2.6 - This new version in Fedora is a precursor to Python 3000 (3.0), including many compatibility measures to help developers get their code prepared for the next generation of Python. * NetBeans 6.5 - NetBeans IDE 6.5 is a significant update of NetBeans IDE 6.1 that includes improved JavaScript, AJAX, Ruby, and database support. * gcc 4.4 - The gcc compiler suite has been updated to the latest version, featuring better error detection for the latest in safety and execution. * Eclipse profiling tools - Add the power of various native profiling tools into the Eclipse IDE and integrate with the rest of the development environment.

Peek under the hood and there is still more:

* Desktop Environments - Updates to Gnome 2.26 and KDE 4.2.1 bring the latest innovations and functionality to desktop users. Xfce and Sugar have also been updated. * Anaconda Storage - New storage code for the Anaconda installer improves the ability to handle new types of storage. The rewrite does not change the user interface. * Minimal Platform - New installer features make it much easier to create very small installations for embedded applications, such as for a server or desktop appliance. * Control groups - Allows system administrator to partition the system resources into different sub groups, and dedicate these sub groups resources to different applications' need. * DeviceKit - A simple, modular system service to manage devices and designed to partially replace HAL. Users gain a graphical disk management application that integrates nicely into the desktop.

* DNS Security - DNSSEC (DNS SECurity) is a mechanism that can prove integrity and authenticity of DNS data.

* ext4 filesystem - ext4 is the new default file system for Fedora 11 (replacing ext3) allowing for larger file system support and better performance by providing real-time fragmentation prevention and smarter data allocations. * sVirt MAC - sVirt integrates SELinux with the Fedora virtualization stack to allow Mandatory Access Control (MAC) security be applied to guest virtual machines * Power Management - Fedora 11 includes new power monitoring utilities and a new system daemon that automatically adjusts power settings to reflect the current system use. There is also a facility to review the system and make suggestions on improving power consumption. * IBus input method - Ibus has been rewritten in C, and provides a simple, clean default system for changing the way international users input information into a Fedora system.

And that is only the beginning. A more complete list and details of each new cited feature is available:

Since this is a Beta release, there may still be some rough spots still in the polishing phase. Some of them are already known and in the process of fixing. If you find a problem, please check the list of known issues and then file a bug: